On to Charleston

My, my; it's been quite a full week....an anniversary in the dark, palm trees, walks on the beach, engine troubles, and adventures in docking. How do we stand the excitement?

Once the rains of Hurricane Irene subsided, we had a few hours of work to put the boat back together again in order for us to get underway. Thus it wasn't until early afternoon that we left Carolina Beach, NC and headed down the Cape Fear River. A short day was in order and our guide listed a nice anchorage 20 miles away. However as we approached the cutoff to Pipeline Canal, signs on either side warned boaters away from an underwater dam. And there wasn't anything subtle about the signs posted on both sides of the entrance. Large letters declared "Boaters Keep Out." Our charts showed the dam was covered by 5 foot of water a low tide (our boat draws 4 feet). Never one to follow directions well, we trusted the guides and were rewarded with a quiet, scenic anchorage in a small basin just beyond the entrance.

It was on this day that our alternator began acting flaky. A little background; the engine mounted alternator is there to charge the batteries. Without a working alternator, our normal power usage of instruments, lights, VHF radio and all other 12 volt systems would drain the batteries within a few days. Once the batteries go dead, we can no longer start the engine. Flaky in this case means that the alternator wasn't working when we started the engine, but fiddling with the connections on the alternator seemed to bring it back to life. Okay, no problem, just a loose wire. I can fix that! Over the next couple of days, it worked as normal until on the third day out, it quit altogether. No amount of fiddling with the wires would resuscitate it. Later that evening after we anchored, one by one I removed and replaced each connection, all to no avail. It was DOA. So now, as we had no way to recharge the batteries, I wouldn't allow Joyce to turn on any lights or use any other power (even to cook using the stove). And it just so happened we were in the middle of nowhere... and it was our anniversary!

It was at this point that we also noticed a small amount of engine coolant in the catch pan under the engine. But a search around the engine revealed no obvious place from where the leak came. Another mystery. They were starting to build up. To top all this off, I made the mistake of letting the fuel tank get a little low. So now we had not only the alternator and coolant leak to worry about, we also became concerned that we would run out of fuel before we got to Charleston. But I'm getting a little ahead...

From the Pipeline Canal anchorage, we made for the popular stop of Barefoot Landing in Myrtle Beach, SC....popular it seems mostly for the free dock! But while we were there, we were able to enjoy a walk on the beach in between rain showers. The developers of this shopping complex had the foresight to put in a 500 foot dock for boaters to tie up for a maximum of 72 hours. Lots of trendy and speciality boutique shops in a picturesque natural setting, but of little use to folks on a budget. I suppose the developers figured that boaters have money to spend. Maybe the powerboaters, but I guess they don't know much about sailboaters. Rafting is expected however. So it was no surprise that a sailboat pulled up late in the day after the rest of the dock was full wanting to tie up along side our boat. As Liberty Belle was a heavy 45 foot cruising boat and we a puny little 34 footer, we felt like as though we were being crushed against the dock all night.

But Harry and Dot turned out to be very nice people. As soon as we got them tied up securely, they invited us over. We've felt that we've been adopted every since. Over the next several days, Harry would call on the radio just to check up on us or to warn us about a bridge or some other obstruction ahead. The next day we planned to leave Barefoot Landing early, but we awoke to a cold steady rain. Even though we could tell that Harry didn't want us to go, we couldn't bear the thought of another day trapped by Liberty Belle. So we donned our foul weather gear and left in a chilly pouring rain.

Damage from the seasons hurricanes has been much in evidence along this stretch of the waterway. A little further north in North Carolina, much of the vegetation is in it's winter state, stripped of foliage. We learned that this happens after overexposure to salt spray; the deciduous trees drop their leaves and the evergreens turn brown. Slightly further south, many if not most of the docks are damaged, pilings lifted and decks twisted by the rising water. And along one stretch in South Carolina, houses along the waterway have been inundated. We were further north during Floyd, but we understood the waterway to be closed for 6 miles because wakes from boats were washing into already flooded houses, exacerbating clean up efforts. We passed by this same area soon after Irene only to witness flooding conditions almost as bad during Floyd. The water was so high in portions of the Waccamaw River that at times it was hard to tell what was river and what once was forest. Water from the river was once again right up to the porches of houses along the waterway.

We also entered into the heartland of shrimp country. For those who are partial, you can buy shrimp right off the boats for a fraction of what you pay in the store. The shrimp are whole however, so you have to de-head and de-vain them yourselves. But we can tell we're in shrimp country in a much more personal way...we hear them. That's right, the shrimp eat the algae off the bottom of the boat. As they do, they make a noise that sounds similar to bacon frying when there are lots of shrimp or a slow cracking fire when there are fewer. They are active day and night. A couple of nights they were loud enough to keep us awake. Get me a net!

We finally arrived in Georgetown, SC after our day in the rain. A factory town, the prominent landmark is the steel mill at the head of the creek and the smell of the large paper mill if the wind is blowing in the wrong direction. (Fortunately for us it was blowing away from town this day). But the downtown area is pleasantly small and accessible, still vibrant and thriving. Two days now from Charleston where we planned on an extended stop.

In between however was an overnight stay in the marshland of the low country, where the current runs hard and there are no trees to block the wind at night. It was early on this day that our alternator decided to call it quits. So we spent one long, cold, dark, windy night trying to hide behind the grass of the marshland that floods almost overtop of the grass at high tide. On top of that, a throat infection had me feeling down. And it was our anniversary. I swore to Joyce that I would make it up to her in Charleston.

So the next day, we weighed anchor when there was just enough light to see our way out of the creek. During the night, the current opposing the wind had wound our anchor rode around the boat. Pulling the anchor up was a bit like unwinding a top. By 9:00 am, we had cleared the canal and entered Charleston Harbor. We intended to put into a marina in Charleston to work on our engine problems and to have a little more freedom to explore Charleston. Just as the current was approaching maximum ebb, we were approaching the dock. We could see how hard the current was flowing, pushing the buoys over and swirling along the gas docks. And we felt the power when we turned broadside and were quickly swept down towards the dock. Worse yet, we really didn't know where we were going. Once inside the marina bulkhead, there would be no turning back. Talk about being committed, the audience on the dock probably thought we should be for attempting this. Yep, this was going to be an adventure. The smart thing to do at this point would be to find a safe place to anchor and wait for slack water in about 3 hours.

Now we could brag that we put the boat into the slip without a bump. But it was mostly luck. Downwind and strong downcurrent, we needed all the help from both of the dock attendants to land safely. And believe me, our hearts were racing as we entered the basin searching in quiet desperation for the dockhands to guide us in. Later, no less than four people said they saw the whole thing and they never would have done it in their boats.

Work on the engine began with another fruitless search for the coolant leak. I started to be convinced that the radiator cap was just a little ajar until we ran the engine again and got more coolant in the drain pan. But now the alternator was working. With a good spotlight, I searched again with the engine running. But what is that burning smell? "Shut it off, shut it off," I yelled as the smell now turned into sparking. I think I've solved the mystery of the alternator. Several hours of hard work later, I had the engine's heat exchanger off revealing a small hole where the bracket had worn through the casing....and also revealing a chafed wiring harness with several exposed wires....the ones going to the alternator. As it's Sunday, it won't be until tomorrow that I can get parts on order and get supplies to piece back the bad sections of wiring. But at least now we have something to work on and not just speculation. Sure glad we were planning on being in Charleston for awhile.

And it really is a nice place to visit. Such a range of architecture....most people think of the lovely antebellum homes, but that is only the beginning. Charleston is defined as much by the alleys as by the houses themselves. Not your typical city alleys, most are lavishly landscaped openings to hidden courtyards or back entrances. Most of the architecture survived because General Sherman, during the civil war, was partial to Charleston and took mercy, instead burning Columbia to the ground. The palms trees, (palmettos) thrive both in cultivated and naturally occurring form in plenty. I suppose South Carolina in not called the palmetto state for nothing.

The marina has a courtesy shuttle that will take you anywhere downtown, a decent laundry, nice shower room, a phone jack for Internet access and a captains lounge with a big screen TV with cable. Just what we need for the baseball World Series.

Atlas appeared to be quite anxious to begin his visit to Charleston as well. During all the excitement of docking, Atlas jumps right off the front of the boat onto the dock. Both Joyce and I and the two dock attendants had their hands full with lines. But somehow, one of the attendants dropped his line long enough to grab Atlas and throw him back aboard. This cat has absolutely no manners!